


The Rule of Three

by tomorrowthestars



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Costumes, Ex-boyfriends who show up when least expected, F/M, First Kiss, Friends who cockblock, Friends who want details, Halloween, Loud crowded Halloween parties, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Sexy versions of any costume known to mankind, Small children who've eaten too much sugar, Toilet paper mummy, Tolkien characters in love, Working at Starbucks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-06 05:23:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16382210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomorrowthestars/pseuds/tomorrowthestars
Summary: Sometimes you have to meet the love of your life more than once.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Erulisse17](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erulisse17/gifts).



> My gift to the wonderful Erulisse17, who writes such gorgeous stories herself. I decided to spin all three prompts into a single story, and hopefully that will actually work! My main inspiration for this is the actual fact that my husband and I literally met each other three separate times before things actually began.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this, and that it is fun and fluffy enough! Other two chapters will follow soon!

_Rey_

“I’m done. I’ve had it.” Rey declared miserably, tears hanging on the edge of her eyelids. “I really have.”

Okay, she’d said that before, and she hadn’t meant it. But she meant it this time. She was _done_.

“I know,” Rose soothed, checking behind her to make sure it was safe to change lanes.

Rey sighed and leaned her head back against the seat, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand.

“What pisses me off most,” Rose said, slowing down for a red light, “is that the asshole couldn’t even break up with you straight out, like a man. He set it up so that you’d do the dirty work for him.”

“Yeah,” Rey sniffled. “Well.” She stared out the window as the car moved forward again, absently watching the sun shining through the red and golden leaves on the trees. _This used to look pretty to me_ , she thought, _it used to make me happy. But I don’t feel happy. I don’t feel anything but sad._

“Minor detour,” Rose announced, slowing to enter a Starbuck’s parking lot. “I need some coffee.” She put the car into park and looked over at her friend. “Oh, Rey, you look so tired.”

“I _am_ tired,” Rey admitted. “I’m tired of having to work so hard at being with someone, you know? I want to be able to leave a party when I want to leave, without having to argue about whether it’s too early to go. I want to be able to order Chinese and watch Netflix on a Saturday night without being made to feel like I’m a social failure. Hell, I want to watch Netflix, period, without having to fight about what I’m going to watch.” She sighed. “I don’t think I want to date anyone again for a long, long time.”

__

 

__

_Ben_

__

Saturday mornings were fucking miserable at Starbuck’s. During the week, there was a rhythm to the daytime clientele – you had your regulars, who showed up around the same time, and you had your one-offs, who usually drove through. Things would pick up around seven in the morning and then there’d be an ebb and flow of customers on a more or less predictable timetable. But Saturday mornings were completely up for grabs.

__

Ben hated Saturday mornings. He hated them even more now because Pumpkin Spice Latte season had just begun. The second the store had received the first shipment, women had started lining up as if Adam Fucking Driver was behind the counter, serving caramel macchiatos while topless. Ben suspected there were massive social media networks exclusively devoted to tracking the appearance of Pumpkin Spice Lattes. There was no other explanation.

__

If there’d been any rhyme or reason to the flow of customers on a Saturday morning before PSL season, it was long gone now. The door swung open on a constant stream of moms in expensive workout clothes and perfect hair, herds of teenaged girls shrieking with laughter, and hungover millennials still in their clubbing outfits from the night before. 

__

And it wasn’t as if Ben’s sole aim in life was to make the perfect PSL. For Chrissakes, he was thirty years old. He was only doing this job as part of his research for his next novel (true, the coffee shop only took up three chapters, but he prided himself on being almost obsessively thorough).

__

So when the crowds thinned out in the late morning, leaving no one in the store, Ben surreptitiously choked down some ibuprofen for his tension headache and set about restocking cups at the far end of the counter, hoping to stay as far away as he could from his partner for this morning (whom he privately called Annoyingly Cheerful Emily).

__

As he worked, he scowled. He’d had ten – _ten!_ — arguments with customers that morning, mostly because the customers had been complete assholes (it was always a point of pride for Ben when someone else was the asshole). Normally he’d have liked getting that much material for his book, but he was tired and cranky and PSL’d out and he was over it. Let Annoyingly Cheerful Emily get yelled at for a while.

__

He groaned out loud when the door opened, peeking up at a small mirror that had been installed along the top of the wall. Two women were standing there, one of them looking like she knew exactly what she wanted (a fucking PSL, he’d bet good money), the other staring morosely down at her shoes.

__

Ben continued stocking cups, anticipating the overbright tones of Annoyingly Cheerful Emily as she greeted the new customers. He waited, then waited some more. Still, no gratingly sunny greeting. He stealthily checked around for her, not wanting to engage with the PSL cultists waiting at the counter.

__

She was nowhere in sight.

__

Which meant he had to get this, because the drive-through workers were busy with the drive-through and they couldn’t do it.

__

Which meant he had to make _more goddamn Pumpkin Spice Lattes._

__

“Hello?” The Woman Who Knew What She Wanted was trying to get his attention.

__

He decided to finish stocking the cups before dealing with the customers, since he was almost done. It was just a drink, not emergency heart surgery. They could wait a few more seconds.

__

“Hey!” came another voice, a bit louder. This must be Shoes Woman. “Hi there!”

__

“I’ll be right with you,” he answered, unable to mask the frustrated, patronizing tone of his voice.

__

He heard Shoes Woman mutter, “Oh, so kind of you, _sir_!”

__

_Okay, sweetie_ , he thought. _You are definitely_ not _going to get my best service._

__

“Rey,” Knows-What-She-Wants hissed, clearly trying to shut her friend up. “He’ll be here in a minute.”

__

“Hi,” Shoes Woman called to him again, “Can I get…”

__

Ben huffed impatiently. “I swear to God, if you say Pumpkin Spice Latte, I will impale myself on the espresso machine!”

__

_Shit. Did I just say that out loud?_ he asked himself.

__

_Yes. Yes, you did,_ he replied. 

__

Ben had to admit it -- this time, _he_ was the asshole. These customers had every right to kick his ass into next year. If he were them, he would totally do so.

__

He steeled himself, then turned slowly to face his doom – and was rendered completely speechless.

__

Knows-What-She-Wants was a decent-looking woman, he’d known that from his glance in the mirror, but she wasn’t his type. Ben had never known what his type actually was, but he was sure she wasn’t it.

__

Shoes Woman, though.

__

She was pretty. Seriously pretty. Her eyes were red and wet, with dark circles underneath; her cheeks were splotchy, her lips were chapped, and she was glowering at him with righteous anger. But she _shone_ with pretty.

__

He could only imagine how beautiful she was when she wasn’t emotionally wrecked. Because he could tell she was wrecked, he _felt_ it, and for a moment he wanted to ask her why and who had done that to her and if she’d allow him to avenge the wrong by killing them.

__

_Get a grip, Solo,_ he chided himself, and cleared his throat.

__

“Wha…what can I get for you?” he asked faintly, his voice cracking like he was a damn middle-schooler.

__

She leaned forward with a devilish gleam in her narrowed eyes, and Ben couldn’t help but lean towards her in turn.

__

“Pumpkin. Spice. Latte,” she intoned, enunciating clearly and pausing between each word, before looking pointedly at the espresso machine and back at him again.

__

Ben wanted to chuckle, but thought it might be best to act Unfailingly Professional. “What size would you like that to be?” 

__

She considered for a moment with an unblinking glare. “Whatever will be the most difficult for you to make.”

__

“Jesus, Rey,” her friend sighed, then said apologetically, “I’d like a venti Casi Cielo, please.”

__

He nodded and moved down the counter to make their drinks, watching her from the corner of his eye.

__

“Rose,” Rey said, nodding at the point-of-sale rack by the register as her friend held out her phone for payment. “More Pumpkin Spice.”

__

“There's Pumpkin Spice Everything,” Rose responded. 

__

“Pumpkin Spice Duct Tape,” Rey suggested.

__

“Pumpkin Spice Diapers,” her friend responded.

__

“Pumpkin Spice Motor Oil,” Rey replied, and Knows-What-She-Wants Rose giggled.

__

“Hey, how y’all doing? What can I get you?” Annoyingly Cheerful Emily chirped, appearing out of nowhere.

__

Ben saw Rey wince a little at the barista’s brutally forceful happiness.

__

_I know, sweetheart,_ he thought. _I feel it too._

__

“No, thanks,” Rose waved her off kindly. “He’s got it.”

__

“All righty, then! Have a beautiful day, girls!”

__

Rey rolled her eyes. She and Rose strolled over to the pick-up counter, arriving just as Ben was setting their drinks down. Rose smiled and thanked him, taking her drink and stepping back to sip on it.

__

“I’m still waiting, _Kylo,_ ” Rey told him.

__

_Holy crap, she checked my nametag._ He gestured politely towards her cup, wishing like hell he hadn't decided to use a pseudonym. He wanted to hear what her voice sounded like when she said "Ben".

__

She folded her arms across her chest. “The espresso machine.”

__

Ben could not think of one good thing to say in response, because dammit, she was _perfect_ , from the messy chestnut hair on her head right down to her obnoxiously tapping foot. She’d come into the store looking shattered, but there was strength underneath that, an absolute refusal to take anyone’s bullshit. She left him awestruck.

__

_I am not worthy of you,_ he thought.

__

“Oh, for crying out loud,” Rose muttered. “Rey, c’mon, we’ve got to go.”

__

Rey made no move to leave. She raised her eyebrows at him, ever so slightly, daring him to respond.

__

Ben Solo had never been one to turn down a dare.

__

He let out a rueful sigh and shook his head. “As it turns out, ma’am, OSHA regulations prohibit impalement in any area where food is being prepared. I am completely and unreservedly sorry that I will not be able to fulfill your request.”

__

She was still glaring, but he could swear he saw a twinkle in her eyes.

__

Emboldened by that twinkle, he reached down below the counter, to the box that held the refills for the point-of-sale rack. When he found what he was looking for, he held it out to her with a bright, fake please-the-customer smile that even Annoyingly Cheerful Emily couldn’t top.

__

“As an apology, please permit me to offer you this complimentary package of Pumpkin Spice Madeleines.”

__

_Oh, yeah._ That was definitely a twinkle in her eyes, even though she was fighting to keep the glare in place.

__

Rey reached out to take the cookies from him, and as she did, her fingers brushed against his.

__

Ben almost jumped. Once, when he’d been a kid, he’d stuck a penny in an electric outlet (partially to see what would happen, but mostly because he was being a dumbass). This was the almost the same kind of shock – immediate, pulsing, terrifying. But also exhilarating. 

__

_What the hell…?_

__

He heard Rey gasp quietly as her eyes went wide. They were the most interesting color Ben had ever seen – brown, no, green, no, somehow both, how was that possible? – and she held his gaze for a moment too long, her eyes roaming over his as if she was searching for something within them.

__

In confusion, he let go of the package, and she quickly tucked the cookies into her coat pocket and reached for her drink.

__

She probably thought he’d felt up her fingers on purpose, that he was some kind of obsessive psychotic coffee-making stalker. And who’s to say he wasn’t? He’d never been so affected by a woman in his life. He wasn’t sure _what_ he was doing, to be honest.

__

He began wiping down the counter as she and her friend turned away to leave. _One more look,_ he thought, glancing up to see Rey take a sip of her drink and grimace. 

__

“I can’t believe you ordered that,” Rose giggled quietly. “You hate those. You must have really wanted to spite him.”

__

“Oh, hell yes,” Rey answered, but her voice was soft and mild. “He pissed me off.”

__

Rose pushed open the door, gesturing for Rey to go through first. “I gotta say, it’s nice to see you being pissed off again….”

__

Ben watched them make their way to Rose’s car, and he knew. 

__

He’d never been so sure about anything in his life. He knew it was crazy, he knew he was thinking exactly like an obsessive psychotic coffee-making stalker, but he was fully and completely certain.

__

It might be years before he saw her again, but that didn’t matter. There were millions of people in this city, and he didn’t even know if she lived here, but that didn’t matter either. He’d see her again.

__

As he watched the car pull back out into the street, there was no doubt in his mind.

__

_That’s my wife._

__


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year later, Rey meets Ben again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part of my gift for Erulisse17!

_Ben_

He’d have been furious, if he were a kid.

The weather this Halloween was the crappiest he’d ever seen. The rain was falling in frozen sheets, icing over as soon as it hit the pavement, and the wind was howling and gusting so hard he could feel his building shake.

Ben didn’t usually see many trick-or-treaters anyway, living in a sixth-floor apartment in a building with a bunch of young urban professionals. The only kids in the building lived at the far end of his floor, and they preferred to be outside as much as possible.

No chance of that tonight. No sensible parent would take their children out in this maelstrom, and Kaydel seemed to be the epitome of a Sensible Parent.

She’d probably bring the kids around the building instead, which would be unfortunate because Ben didn’t have any candy to give them and he was not about to venture out into Stormaggedon to buy some. He racked his brain for a few minutes, searching for an alternative. He really liked Benji and Grace, and he didn’t want to disappoint them.

Well, if they showed up, he’d just give them a little money. Kids loved money, and no one had to worry about allergies like they did with candy. Ben checked his wallet, making sure it was full of singles. Yep, it was. 

He was all good to go.

He made himself a cup of coffee and settled down in his office, computer on, intent on completing the most recent round of changes that his editor had suggested. His work on the current novel was nearing the finish line, and he already had notebooks full of ideas for his next book. He’d even begun mapping out the plot points on the whiteboard hanging on his office wall.

There was something so comfortable about being able to dive into work, coffee in hand, while the storm raged outside and bits of ice pelted the windows. It was warm and soothing. Not much in Ben’s life had been warm and soothing, and he treasured the feeling whenever he could get it.

He was fifteen minutes into editing when he heard a knock at the apartment door. He took one more swallow of coffee as he rose, looking forward to seeing what the kids had decided to be for Halloween this year. Last year, Grace been an M&M and her brother had been one of the Pokemon (Charizard, if Ben remembered correctly).

Another knock at the door, and Ben rolled his eyes. Well, he couldn’t blame them for being impatient. He remembered being a kid himself.

“Just a second,” he chuckled. “I’ll be right there!” He swung the door open with a smile, only to be met with the shock of his life.

It was her. Rey. The woman from Starbucks. He hadn’t seen her for over a year, but he’d have known her anywhere. The future Mrs. Solo was dressed in a slightly-too-small rendition of Cinderella’s ball gown, a plastic tiara dangling precipitously in her hair, her gorgeous hazel eyes wide and stunned as they gazed into his.

He had been certain that he would see her again, but he had never imagined that she would one day be literally knocking on his door, dressed as a Disney princess, no less. 

Ben gulped and said the first thing that came into his head. “Aren’t you a little old to be trick-or-treating?”

 

_Rey_

When the door swung open, Rey froze.

It was him. 

Kylo the Barista.

He’d pissed her off exceedingly when she’d met him, his entitled, snarly attitude awakening the bitch that had been sleeping inside of her. But he’d rallied admirably in the face of her temper, and she couldn’t help admiring that.

He had been handsome, despite the broody frown and the snarky tone of voice. Seriously handsome. He’d practically _radiated_ handsome.

He was still handsome, Rey thought. She stood there, taking in his thick black hair and the way his grey waffle-print shirt clung to and defined his muscles, and decided that he was also blazingly hot. 

In fact, he was best-looking man she’d ever had the good fortune to meet, with eyes like caramel wrapped around a deep, dark center that seemed to go on infinitely. 

Rey hadn’t given him that much thought over the past year – she’d been too busy enjoying life as a single woman, living it according to her own schedule and her own inclinations. Her friends kept trying to set her up with men, afraid she was lonely, but she had gently rebuffed all attempts. “It’s a privilege to be able to do what I want, when I want,” she told them. “It would have to be someone really special for me to change the way I live.”

She’d only remembered Kylo the Barista those times when she happened to drive by the Starbuck’s where he worked. Once, on a whim, she’d gone in to see if he was there, but he hadn’t been. She’d bought a Nitro Cold Brew and left, slightly disappointed.

But now he was here, right in front of her, his soft, dark eyes focused on her face and his mouth agape in a way that made her want to sigh.

He gulped and said, “Aren’t you a little old to be trick-or-treating?”

Rey’s eyes narrowed. Whatever happened to “Yes?” or “Hi, can I help you?” (or better yet, “Hey, don’t I know you from somewhere?”).

“I’m not trick-or-treating,” she retorted.

He smirked slightly, eyeing her up and down, and she remembered. _The costume, the damn costume._

“I’m taking my friend’s kids around the building because she has to work late,” she explained.

“Where are they?”

It took her a second to process the question, which was entirely understandable since she was busy watching the way his lips moved as he spoke. 

“ _Shit._ ” She whirled around, hearing the ghost of a chuckle behind her.

Rey knew they couldn’t have gone anywhere – she hadn’t heard the elevator ding, and the doors to the stairwells were still too heavy for them to handle on their own. But she panicked all the same. _Kaydel will definitely kill me if I lose her children._

Thankfully, she spotted one of them at the end of the hallway. 

“Benji! Benji, come here!”

The boy wore a sunny smile as he barreled down the hallway towards her, his blonde hair messy around his head. “We still haven’t been to Mr. Ben’s house!”

Rey’s eyes roamed around the hallway as she took a step towards him. “Where’s your sister?”

A mischievous, high-pitched giggle sounded from the distance.

Rey sighed. “Gracie, come out! Don’t you want to still trick or treat?”

“Rey find me!” The little fairy-like voice bubbled with more laughter.

“Come on, Gracie. Halloween's not over yet,” Rey cajoled.

Behind her, she heard Benji crow, “Hi, Mr. Ben!”

“Hey, buddy,” the man in question responded, and Rey heard the slap of a high-five as she turned, frowning.

“Your name is _Ben_?”

“Yep!” Benji answered, grabbing his neighbor’s hand and swinging his arm back and forth.

“Not you, sport,” Rey chided. “I know your name.”

“It’s his name too!” Benji informed her, twisting under Ben’s arm as if they were dancing.

“I thought…,” Rey started, but stopped herself right there, before she gave Kylo the Barista – _Ben_ – any idea that she still remembered his name after all this time. (Although, honestly, how could anyone forget a name like Kylo?)

“You thought what?” Ben asked, looking up from where Benji capered around him.

Rey tried wildly to think of an answer that would not embarrass her, until she was saved by another round of giggles from afar.

“Ugh, that child,” Rey muttered, then called out, “Gracie! Come on!”

“Grace!” Ben’s voice was friendly but firm, kind but business-like, in a way that seemed almost calculated to make Rey’s heart skip a beat in her chest.

Which it did.

 _Oh, my goodness, his_ voice _…_.

“Come on!” Ben continued, closer now, and Rey realized he’d stepped out of his doorway and into the hallway behind her. “You’ve got to say trick-or-treat to my face if you want anything!”

A shriek sounded from down the hallway. Gracie leapt out from the alcove that held the garbage chute and ran pell-mell towards them, her butterfly wings nearly falling off her back. “Treat, Mr. Ben! Treat!”

“You know how it works,” Ben reminded the little girl, and Rey reached out to stroke Gracie’s hair fondly as she ran past.

“Okay, now tell me what you guys are this year.” Ben crouched down to be on level with the kids.

 _He’s a natural_ , Rey thought, and warmth flooded her chest.

And then she wondered if he had kids of his own. She hoped he didn’t. Unless he was divorced from their mother, that would be okay.

 _Oh my God, Rey,_ she scolded herself. _You can’t just wish people are divorced, that’s rude._

“I’m a butterfly!” Gracie answered, rather unnecessarily, but Ben acted surprised all the same.

“Really? Very pretty costume,” he told her, then turned to her brother, who was wearing his everyday clothes and a small Pokemon backpack. “Did you even dress up, Benji?”

“Yeah!” Benji was affronted. “I’m A Kid Going To School!” He turned and pointed in Rey’s direction. “And she’s Cinderella!”

Ben looked up at Rey. His eyes started at her feet, then slowly rose over the costume, until he was lingering on her face. Rey supposed he could have been giving her an innocent, costume-appraising glance, rather than a full-on checking-out.

God, she hoped not.

She was about to venture some slightly flirty question about what Ben’s costume was, when she noticed Gracie squirming and hopping from one foot to another.

“Grace,” Rey asked as calmly as she could, “do you need to go potty?”

“No!” Gracie declared loudly, but she undermined her statement by grabbing the front of her sparkly blue leotard.

“Just hold it, Gracie,” Benji ordered. “We don’t have our treats from Mr. Ben yet!”

“I don’t think she can hold it very long, sport,” Rey told him, reaching out for Gracie’s hand.

“My apartment has a bathroom,” Ben interrupted. “It’s even been cleaned within the last century.”

“Could we?” Rey asked, but she was already dragging Gracie through the door.

“Just down there,” he pointed as Rey hurried past him, “all the apartments have the same floor plan, so it should be in the same place as theirs.”

“Got it!” Rey answered brightly, shutting the bathroom door behind her.

It took two nerve-wracking minutes to get Gracie’s wings, leotard and tights off, and another two minutes to convince her that she wasn’t going to fall in “the big potty”. Then it was another three minutes until the little girl decided that she was finished. 

During the five minutes it took to put the butterfly costume back on and get Gracie’s hands washed, Rey surreptitiously checked around the bathroom for any sign of female occupancy. She was relieved to find that the evidence pointed to a single male resident.

 _This is a two-bedroom apartment, like Kaydel’s,_ she thought. _Why would a man living alone need two bedrooms?_

Rey got her answer when she and Gracie emerged into the hallway and she caught a glimpse into the room across from the bathroom. Computer, bookshelves, a whiteboard on one wall with scrawls all over it, a stack of notebooks on an end table – the second bedroom was an office.

_This guy is obviously not just a barista._

For a moment, Rey thought about taking a step or two into the room, to see what else she could find out about their host. Before she could embarrass herself by snooping, however, Gracie went tearing off towards the living room, and Rey was forced to sprint after her.

The two Benjamins were kneeling in front of a large flat-screen television, perusing the collection of video game clamshells that lay scattered haphazardly across the floor in front of three or four different gaming consoles.

 _Yep, he’s single,_ Rey thought. She noted happily that he read as well as played video games – there was another, larger bookshelf along the side wall, and books were scattered everywhere in sight, as if he were reading several different ones at once.

Like Rey did.

“Seriously, you _need_ a Nintendo Switch.” Benji advised their host emphatically. 

“I’ll think about it,” Ben nodded, his expression appropriately solemn.

“All done,” Rey announced. “And your mother will be home soon, so we should get going. Gracie, thank Mr. Ben for the potty.”

“Thank you for the potty, Mr. Ben!”

“What about our treat?” Benji asked.

“What do you have to ask me first?” Ben prompted.

Benji and Gracie looked at each other for a moment, then screamed, “Trick or treat!” at the top of their lungs.

Both Rey and Ben laughed, wincing.

“Okay.” Ben mussed Benji’s hair. “The bad news is, I don’t have any candy. The good news is, I have money.”

“Money!” Benji began jumping up and down, and Gracie screeched and ran in circles.

“Don’t get that excited, it’s not much,” Ben chuckled, pulling out a handful of ones and dropping some in Benji’s plastic pumpkin. “Here you go. Happy Halloween!” 

Rey began herding Benji towards the front door. “Okay, troops, let’s get back home!”

Ben took Gracie’s hand, stopping her running to drop money into her pumpkin, then moving her along to join Rey and Benji.

“Thanks for everything,” Rey murmured to him, letting the kids run out the door ahead of her. They darted off down to hall towards their apartment.

“You’re welcome,” he replied quietly. “They’re great kids, so….”

“Yeah.”

“So, you work with Kaydel Connix?” he asked, running his hand through his hair.

Rey nodded, wondering what it would feel like if it were her hands running through it.

“She’s a, what, an engineer, project manager?” he asked. His voice was casual, but there was something nervous in it, and Rey’s heart fell.

 _He’s interested in her,_ she thought sadly. _I mean, he already knows her, and he likes the kids, so I guess it makes sense. I don’t think they’re dating already, Kaydel hasn’t said anything about it or mentioned him at all, but…_.

“Is that what you do too, I mean, your job?” he continued, then hitched in a breath and said quickly, “I’m not trying to pry or anything, I’m just wondering, you know….”

Rey’s hopes perked back up again.

Shrieks came down the hall from the direction of Kaydel’s apartment.

“Hey!” Rey exclaimed.

“Just wait a moment!” Ben called out, in unison with her.

“Yeah, I’m an engineer as well.” Rey answered, turning back around and meeting his eyes. “A mechanical engineer. At least, that’s what my degree says.”

“Nice!” Was she mistaken, or did he sound impressed?

“Do you…are you….”

“I’m an author.” His eyebrows went up questioningly. As if he was waiting to see if she approved. It was _adorable_.

“Really?” Rey couldn’t help the way her voice rose a little on the second syllable, as if she was one step away from going full fangirl on him. “That’s so awesome!” 

_Awesome? Holy crap, what am I, fifteen?_

“I mean, that’s so interesting,” she rephrased, feeling her cheeks begin to heat up.

He nodded, a smile spreading over his face. “Yeah. So is mechanical engineering. What are you working on at the moment, is it…?”

There was a screech from down the hall. Benji yelled, “Miss Rey! Gracie hit me!”

“Looks like the clock’s striking midnight,” Ben sighed.

For a half second, Rey was confused. Then she giggled. “This wasn’t my idea,” she told him, gesturing at her outfit. “Kaydel bought it years ago, for a party, and Gracie demanded that I wear it.”

“Looks nice on you, though,” he responded. Rey’s heart gave a quick double-thump.

“GRACIE STOP IT!” Benji roared from down the hall.

_Dammit._

“I’ve really got to go.” Rey began backing down the hall, keeping her eyes on Ben for as long as possible. “Thank you for everything!”

“You’re welcome!” he called after her, leaning against the door frame.

As Rey turned to run down the hall towards her small charges, she was sure she could feel his eyes still on her.

Rey was not a romantic fool, not in the slightest. So she was surprised by the feeling that overwhelmed her as she unlocked the door to the apartment and let the kids in. They immediately dumped the contents of their pumpkins all over the living room floor, while Rey leaned back against the closed door and thought.

It was the strangest feeling she’d ever had, a mixture of excitement and giddiness and certainty.

_We belong together, he and I. Kylo or Ben or whatever his name is._

_He’s my future._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, Benji's costume is a direct nod to my youngest child's costume one year. Yes, said child dressed up as A Kid Going to School. (Another year, the costume was A Tree With A Cat In It). It was just too good a thing not to use somewhere.


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey meet for the third time, at an after-Halloween Halloween party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final installment of my gift to Erulisse17, filling the prompt that one of them has to hide behind a mask or wrap in toilet paper at a Halloween party.
> 
> It's pretty much fluff and romance amidst a crowded, obnoxious party. I hope you enjoy it!

**_Rey_**

Rey scanned the room full of Sexy Cops, scantily-clad animals, Avengers, and irreverent social commentaries, and began to regret not staying home.

She’d already had to explain her costume to several people, shouting over the loud music.

 _“Eowyn!”_  
_“Who?”_  
_“Eowyn! From_ The Lord of the Rings _!”_  
_“Oh! The hot elf chick!”_

Sigh. 

She decided to move to the kitchen, where some of the snacks had been spread out across the island. She hadn’t had dinner beforehand, and she was hungry. 

It was slightly quieter there, away from the music, and that was a relief. Rey wasn’t one for loud parties, especially when the music being played was heavy-thumping house music. She edged her arm through the throng of people surrounding the island, muttering “Excuse me” and “Sorry” on an endless loop, and more than once narrowly averted having her plate knocked out of her hand by quick-moving party guests. 

Once her plate was filled, she maneuvered herself to a spot in the doorway of the study. She had to keep moving out of the way when people entered or left the room, but it was quieter here than it had been in the kitchen, and the idiot dressed as Donald Trump was nowhere in sight.

She was just about to take a bite of her jalapeno popper when Finn came barreling down the hall in a Spiderman costume.

“Peanut!” he crowed, throwing his arms around her exuberantly, “We’re so glad you could make it!”

“This is a beautiful house, Finn!” Rey exclaimed. And it was, too, a three-story Victorian with a large wrap-around porch, original woodwork throughout, and a big breakfast area with large, welcoming windows.

“Thanks! Poe put a lot of work into it.” Finn peered into the study. “I mean, we’re not done by any means – these walls are clearly in need of serious help – but at least we got the kitchen and bathrooms up and running in time for the party, even if it had to be after Halloween. And the living room is finished. Bedrooms are a hot mess, though.” He looked her over appraisingly. “Oh, you’re one of your geek characters, aren’t you? Let me guess.” He took a moment to think ostentatiously, tapping his chin with his finger while Rey rolled her eyes and bit into the popper. “It’s not Doctor Who, and I don’t think it’s Harry Potter. Hmmm. Is it…Lord of the Rings?”

“Actually, yes,” Rey said in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to be able to guess.

“The witchy Cate Blanchett one?”

Sigh.

“No.” She took a bite of her meatball. “Don’t worry about it. I know you don’t know.”

“Blonde looks weird on you,” he appraised. “Good, but weird. Won’t you get overheated in that dress, though?”

Rey shrugged. “I’ll be warm once I leave, which is something I couldn’t say for most of your guests.”

“Halloween brings out the hidden slut in a lot of people,” Finn observed, his eyes landing on a woman clad in a faux-leather bustier-and-boy-shorts ensemble, her legs encased in black fishnet stockings held up by garters, with a black cape dangling from her shoulders. “Like…what the hell is that?”

“Sexy Darth Vader,” Rey informed him, quirking a smile.

“Yeah, I don’t know her.” Finn sniffed.

“So how are the two of you?” Rey asked. “Is living together everything you thought it would be?”

“And more,” Finn grinned. “And you know, we have a really nice neighbor, he’s not at all bad-looking….”

“No.”

“Listen, just let me introduce you to him,” Finn pleaded. “I know he’s here somewhere. He lives in that gorgeous Craftsman a couple houses down. If it works out, we could be neighbors!”

“No!” Rey growled. “Finn, I know you only want me to be happy, but the thing is, right now I am happy! I’ve got an apartment all to myself, I can go where I want to go whenever I want to go there. It’s really nice.”

“Yeah, well, having someone to listen to your problems and kill spiders for you is also nice,” Finn told her. “Not to mention your chances of getting laid would go up exponentially.”

“I have friends to talk to, I can kill spiders on my own, and I have a top-of-the-line vibrator,” Rey assured him. 

“You go, girl!” He nudged her arm.

“Look, it’s good for me, right now,” Rey told him seriously. “I like the peace and quiet and the lack of someone else’s expectations.”

 _And it’s a hell of a lot easier to be lonely when you’re actually alone._ Not that she was lonely all that much, but still.

Finn regarded her for a long moment before saying, “Well, when you change your mind about that, you let me know, okay? Poe and I have been keeping a spreadsheet of possibilities for you.”

“You _what_?”

He laughed and darted back down the hall before she could smack him. As she watched him go, her eyes fell on a man who had just come through the door.

He had his back to her, so she couldn’t see what he looked like (other than tall, with dark hair). But she could see how he was dressed when he took off his coat.

_Holy shit. Is it Aragorn? No, it isn’t. Boromir? No. Oh my God. I think it’s Faramir._

“Turn around so I can see your costume, dude,” Rey muttered under her breath, but then her eyes fell on a shock of sandy blonde hair peeking out from under a plastic fireman’s helmet, whose owner had just maneuvered his way past the possible Faramir.

_Fuck. It’s Richard._

Rey hadn’t seen her ex-boyfriend in over a year. The last time had been the day they broke up, when she’d come over to his place for dinner and had caught sight of the computer monitor (hard not to, since it was huge and his computer was right smack in the middle of his living room). He’d left his Pictures file open to show a variety of selfie shots he’d taken with another girl. In bed. Naked. They had just been splayed across the screen, bold as daylight, as if he didn’t care whether or not she saw them.

In fact, Rey now believed Rose’s theory, which was that he’d wanted her to see them so she would get mad and break up with him. She hadn’t known that at the time, but she had still obliged in a storm of tears and devastation before desperately texting Rose to come and get her.

And here he was, bare-chested under suspenders, a stuffed dog in his hand, smiling with a group of people that she used to hang out with back when they’d been together, one of whom was a friend of Finn's.

She desperately wanted to pull her eyes away from him before he caught her gaping, but he was a train wreck in a firefighter costume and she couldn’t look away.

 _I am not ready for this_ , she thought, and the realization spurred her into action.

As she turned to bolt for the bathroom, Rey vaguely registered that the tall man with dark hair had finally turned around, and yes, he was dressed as Faramir. He also seemed oddly familiar, but she had no time to puzzle it out. She wasn’t going to leave the party just because Richard was there – the hell she was going to be That Person – but she couldn’t face him until she pulled herself together. She needed some breathing room. She needed a way to hide until she was ready.

**_Ben_**

He had no idea why he’d agreed to come to this stupid party. He could tell from the moment he stepped through the doorway that most of the people attending were of the age when getting as black-out shit-faced drunk as possible was considered the height of entertainment. Ben had never thought so, not even when he was their age.

And why the hell did Poe insist on blasting such obnoxious music? Ben could feel the bass thudding in his abdomen, so heavily that he could almost imagine there was an alien banging about in there, getting ready to pop from his chest. Speaking of which, he expected….

Ah, yes. There it was. The obligatory Alien-Popping-Out-of-Someone’s-Chest costume, complete with fake blood and gore scattered across the front of the white t-shirt.

 _I should have stayed at home_ , he thought sourly, about to turn around and walk back out again before Poe could see him and shame him into staying.

But then he caught sight of her. Rey. _His future wife_. 

_What the hell is she doing here?_ Was she a friend of Poe’s? Had there been a way to meet her again, all this time? Or maybe she knew Poe’s boyfriend. Or someone who knew them, like a friend of a friend or….

He reminded himself that it didn’t matter how she’d known about the party; what mattered was that she was there.

She wasn’t dressed in some nasty streetwalker-esque approximation of a normal costume – she was in a long gown, wearing a long blonde wig with a small braid pulled back from each side of her head, and _wait a minute is she_ Eowyn _?_

She’d come as _Eowyn_ , and he’d come as _Faramir?_

His heart did a double back flip in his chest.

He’d intended to skulk around in the hallway outside his apartment tomorrow morning, pretending to tie his shoes before going running or something, until Kaydel emerged to take the kids to church. He’d greet the kids and mention seeing them for Halloween, then casually steer the conversation around to Rey. See if he could get confirmation that she wasn’t dating anyone, and if she wasn’t, maybe get the name of the company she and Kaydel worked for so he could contact her.

Ben thought it was a pretty smooth plan. He hadn’t yet devised an excuse for calling her at work, but he was a creative guy. He was sure he’d figure one out.

He should’ve just gotten her number on Halloween, but he’d been so floored to see her in his doorway – in his _apartment_ – that he hadn’t thought of it, not until he’d been brushing his teeth before bed. When he realized the opportunity that had slipped through his fingers, he face-palmed so hard that he’d nearly chipped a tooth.

But apparently the universe felt kindly towards him for once in his life, because here she was.

She hadn’t yet seen him, though. She was staring at the dudebro who’d just shoved past him, with a look of dawning horror on her face. 

Ben turned to examine the guy, who was half-naked and wearing a firefighter hat. He seemed to be a typical too-loud, too-male guy, the kind that would most likely describe himself as a “party animal” when making small talk with women in bars. Ben had written several characters like this, and they were all assholes.

He turned back to her, just in time to see her whirl around and bolt away down the hallway.

Without a second thought, Ben began moving after her, winding his way through the laughing, screaming party guests. He caught sight of her up ahead, ducking into the bathroom as the Black Panther emerged. Ben was halfway down the hall towards her when he saw her scurry back out again with an armful of toilet paper rolls and pop into the doorway directly across from the bathroom.

_What the…?_

His mouth curled into a curious, amused smile as he followed her into the room.

**_Rey_**

It had seemed like a good idea a moment ago, but now that she’d begun trying to wrap herself up in toilet paper like a mummy, she realized how dumb it actually was.

There was no way to hold the toilet paper in place, since it popped out of whatever bit of her costume she tried to stick it in. And since she couldn’t dislocate her shoulders at will, she could barely manage to get the paper around her body well enough to hide herself.

“Dammit,” she muttered to herself, “this is stupid.”

“What are you doing, my lady?”

She gasped, swiveling around to see Faramir standing in the doorway.

No, wait. Not Faramir. Kylo the Barista.

No, wait. Ben the Author. Ben the gorgeous, good-with-children, not-yet-impaled-on-an-espresso-machine Author.

Ben the nerdy-costume-wearing Author. Which was, she realized, one of the hottest Bens that could ever exist.

Rey was utterly embarrassed at her situation. She was also sure that her face looked exactly like that smiling emoji with the heart eyes.

“B-Ben,” she stuttered, then recovered enough to add, “My lord Faramir, I mean.”

“My lady Eowyn,” he nodded back, then chuckled. It was a gorgeous, rich chuckle, higher than she’d expected, a melody of cascading notes. “Seriously, though, what are you doing?”

_Oh, my God, how do I explain this?_

“Well,” she flailed helplessly, “I saw someone walk in, and I’m not prepared to talk to him, and…”.

“Say no more,” he interrupted, holding out a hand. “Hand me the roll.” When she quirked an eyebrow at him, he explained, “Unless you’re a contortionist, you’re only going to be able to do a half-assed job. It sounds like you need to whole-ass this.”

He handed her one end of the toilet paper, commanding, “Hold this,” then let the paper spool out while she turned in place, adjusting the height of it as necessary. When all was said and done, Rey was covered head-to-toe in toilet paper. 

Completely covered. Including her face. She couldn’t see anything, which was a damn shame, given the way the man in front of her looked.

Rey tried to take a step forward, but couldn’t go anywhere, as the toilet paper wrappings went around her skirt and bound her legs together. Ben chuckled again.

“I don’t think your costume is conducive to this disguise, my lady.”

“Clearly, I did not think this through,” she admitted, her voice muffled behind layers of toilet paper. “Well, at least it’s whole-assed.”

“Go big or go home,” Ben responded, and Rey giggled a little before spitting a bit of toilet paper out of her mouth.

There was silence for a moment, and she wondered if he had left. But then he spoke, and his voice was almost reverent.

“Honestly,” he murmured, “you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

Rey’s heart jumped – she was sure he could see the toilet paper moving as it bounced around in her chest. He sounded, _oh_ , he sounded as if they were sitting across a candlelit table from one another, her hand in his, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes.

But no, he couldn’t mean it that way. He must be kidding around, making a joke, because there was no way that any part of Rey could be seen under the layers of toilet paper, so how could she look beautiful? He was being ironic…no, not ironic, something else, but she couldn’t think of what it was. _Ugh, words._

She decided on a response that was flirty enough to fit either situation.

“Shut up and give me eyes and a mouth,” she directed, in her best sultry voice, holding herself back from adding, _so I can see you and maybe kiss you_.

She felt his hands carefully pulling apart the toilet paper around her eyes; once they were free, she watched his face as he freed her mouth, noticing the blush on his cheeks and feeling hers heat up in response.

“There,” he said softly, his eyes fixed on her lips, and Rey’s legs began to tremble.

“DUDE! You actually made it!” A loud voice exclaimed, and both Rey and Ben startled and turned towards the door to see Poe grinning broadly and lurching into the room to throw his arms around Ben.

**_Ben_**

Fucking Poe.

The cock-blocking son-of-a-bitch had him in a vise-tight hug, leaning on him so hard that Ben could barely remain upright.

“Let me go,” Ben grumbled.

Poe gave Ben a hearty slap on the back before releasing him. “I’m so glad you left your hermit cave!” He turned to the still-mummified Rey and did a double-take, his voice rising in exaggerated astonishment. “Did you bring a _date_?”

“Oh my God,” Ben muttered, his cheeks burning, as Poe stepped closer to the apparition in toilet paper.

“I’ll tell you,” Poe said, dropping his voice as if imparting a great secret, “Ben here is one of my oldest friends. He’s a bit introverted, and a bit nerdy, but he’s a good guy. Also,” he winked, “he works out on the regular, so he’s definitely got _the body_.”

“Okay, _shut up_ ,” Ben growled.

“Slow your roll, Poe,” Rey said from inside her paper cocoon. “It’s just me. It’s Rey.”

It took Poe a moment to put it together. “Rey. Oh, Finn’s friend!” He drew his eyebrows together in confusion. “Wait, didn’t you come dressed as Link?”

“What?”

“You know, Link? From _The Legend of Zelda_? The video game?”

Ben sighed. “The character you’re thinking of is Zelda, not Link. Zelda’s the princess, Link’s the adventurer. For God’s sake, it’s a completely different costume and hair.”

“Well, he probably can’t see my hair right now,” Rey pointed out.

“True.”

Poe’s face remained crumpled in puzzlement. “Why are you wearing toilet paper?” 

“Well…”, Ben started, trying to think of a way to explain something that he didn’t really understand well himself.

Rey sighed from behind her mask of paper tissue. “Because I got freaked out for no reason and overreacted.” Her disappointment in herself rang out loud and clear in the tone of her voice.

“It happens,” Ben said, his voice softer than he had meant it to be. “You’re only human.”

She wiggled a little, her arms straining against the wrappings. “Could I have a little help, please?”

 _I will help you with anything you need_ , Ben wanted to say, but didn’t. He reached out and began to remove the toilet paper around her face with gentle fingers. Poe joined in, moving around to Rey’s back and ripping quickly through the paper to free her arms before moving down to work on the rest of her cocoon.

Rey smiled up at Ben, celebrating her release from confinement by flapping her arms up and down a bit, like a bird. He chuckled and continued unwrapping her head. 

He didn’t have to go so slowly or carefully – he could be like Poe, and just rip it all off. But now that he had an excuse to stand close to her, he was going to make the most of it. Especially since she didn’t seem to mind.

He could feel her looking at him, tracing over his face with her eyes. The tips of his ears grew hot.

Poe gathered up all the discarded toilet paper, wadding it together to make it easier to carry. “So what freaked you out enough to turn you into a mummy?”

“Hmmm? Oh,” Rey answered, glancing over at Poe, “I just caught sight of someone I didn’t think I’d see again. I mean, I’m not usually like this,” she explained, and her eyes were back on Ben again. “I’m a grown-ass woman. I really am. This has not been one of my proudest moments.”

“Everybody has not-proud moments,” Ben reassured her.

“Some more than others.” Poe gave Ben a hearty slap on the forearm. “I could tell you stories about this guy…”.

“Dammit, Poe, shut _up_ ,” Ben growled.

Rey giggled. “I’m sure Ben will tell me some of them later.”

Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and she shut her mouth, her cheeks pinkening under her smattering of faint freckles. _Adorable. Absolutely adorable._ Ben’s breath caught in his throat.

In his peripheral vision, Ben saw Poe look back and forth between them, his mouth slightly open.

“Well,” Poe said, and then cleared his throat. “Well, I’m just gonna go throw this out.” 

Ben nodded, wondering what it would feel like to trace patterns between those freckles.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ll do,” Poe murmured to himself, backing out of the room.

“Do you have any…,” Rey began, just as Ben said, “So, what do…”.

They laughed nervously together for a moment, each taking half a step towards each other.

From the hallway, they heard Poe’s excited voice call out, “Finn? _Honey?_ ”

 _And the gossip train has left the station_ , Ben thought, but he didn’t care. Because Poe would not have gotten so excited if Ben was the only one sporting heart-eyes. A sense of possibility expanded throughout his chest, terrifying and soothing and certain.

“So,” Rey prompted, “any stories to share?”

There were quite a few not-proud moments in Ben’s life, too many to count, most of which he didn’t care to remember.

But there was one that he knew he would never forget.

“This one time,” he started, “I had a job that wasn’t really my job. It was research for the book I was writing – you know, do the thing so you can write about the thing. It was a really bad day. So many customers had been jackasses and I was just pissed off at life in general. And then these two women came into the store, and all they wanted was some coffee, but I could not handle the thought of making one more Pumpkin Spice Latte. So I’m taking my time, hoping my co-worker comes out of whatever hole she was hiding in so I didn’t have to do it, and one of the women just wasn’t having any of my bullshit and let me know it. So I snapped at her. I was a total asshole.” 

Her eyes had grown bigger as he spoke, her mouth slightly open in a way that made him almost feel what it would be like to kiss her.

“I am not proud of my behavior,” he continued, “and I wasn’t then, as soon as I realized how much of a jerk I’d been.” Then he chuckled, remembering. “But you snapped right back at me. You were strong and smart and _magnificent_. And…,” he faltered here, his brain stuttering with the realization that he’d said “you” and now all the cards were down on the fucking table. “So…yeah…,” he finished lamely. He tried to shove his shaking hands into his pockets, but realized he didn’t have any.

“You remember that?” Rey asked, her voice faint and breathless. “You remember _me_?”

He nodded, and felt his stomach drop, as if he were standing on the edge of a precipice. “Of course I do.”

**_Rey_**

She couldn’t believe it.

He remembered.

She cast frantically back through her mind, looking for anything she’d said or done that would have reminded him of their first meeting. She’d tried so hard not to let him know that he’d been in the back of her mind for over a year. Because what kind of weird stalker person would she be then, to remember a snotty barista for that long? Someone she’d spent maybe five minutes talking to?

She came up with nothing. She’d done or said nothing to indicate that she’d met him before last night, before trick-or-treating with the kids.

“You remember that?” Rey asked, hearing her voice as if it were across a great distance. “You remember _me_?”

He nodded, and the way his mouth shifted as he swallowed was beyond adorable. “Of course I do.”

_Holy shit._

Rey groaned as she thought back over that day, flushing with embarrassment. “Oh, my God. I was such a mess. I’m sure I looked like hell, I’d spent the whole morning crying.”

He shook his head, and the muscle under his left eye twitched slightly. “No. You were amazing.”

She laughed ruefully. “I was pitiful.”

He regarded her for a second, his gaze earnest, and then quietly said, “But I do not offer you my pity. For you are a lady high and valiant and you are a lady beautiful beyond the words of Elven-tongue to tell.”

_Faramir’s declaration of love. Holy SHIT._

Rey was dizzy, only vaguely aware that she’d moved her hand up to hover over her heart. “You know that speech?”

“Faramir’s my favorite character,” he shrugged. As if it was no big deal. As if she didn’t know exactly what he’d just quoted.

Oh, she knew, all right.

And he was quoting the _books_ , not the movies.

Rey could barely breathe.

“I remember you too,” she told him, her words tumbling out in a rush now that she could say them. “I never forgot you. I tried to hold your feet to the fire after you gave me my coffee and you just…you suddenly got _funny_. Like, _amusing_ funny, not weird funny.” She was giggling now at the memory. “You offered me those damn cookies in compensation, and the way you phrased the things you said, it was… _delightful_.”

He smiled then, his eyes shining, and he was _so_ beautiful.

“Listen,” he said, edging closer to her, “I’m not much of a party person.”

“Neither am I,” she admitted.

“I almost didn’t show up,” he continued.

“Same here.”

His eyes were locked on hers now, their shades of brown warm and inviting. “I’m so glad I did.”

“Me too,” she responded, then gave a slight giggle. “I’m still not much of a party person, though.”

“Look,” he said, his mouth shifting again, “the Midnight Special’s only a few blocks away. It’s a diner…,”

“I know,” she nodded. “They make this awesome bagel sandwich, with the eggs and the….”

“…ham and jalapenos, yes!” he finished, smiling in delight. “And it’s loud here, and I can’t talk to you as easily, and I really want to just talk to you. Would you let me buy you a bagel sandwich?”

“I would love that,” she told him.

He swallowed. “Okay,” he sighed, sounding relieved. “Okay then. Well. Shall we go?”

She nodded, humming her agreement, and they moved towards the foyer to pick up their coats. It was somewhat awkward, since they kept colliding with walls and doorways and other partygoers. But Rey didn’t want to stop looking at him, and apparently he didn’t want to stop looking at her either, and so they continued to ping-pong their way to the front of the house.

Ben raised an eyebrow at her when they reached the coat hooks.

“The green one, with the tan collar,” she told him, pointing.

He turned to sort through the layers of outerwear, muttering “Excuse me,” to Sexy Kermit the Frog, who was standing directly between him and Rey’s coat. He didn’t hand it to her, just held it out for her to slip into, like a true gentleman would, and his hands lingered for an extra second or two on her shoulders after she’d put it on.

“Peanut!” Ben turned to retrieve his own coat as Finn rushed over to her, his eyes alight with interest. He’d clearly heard the gossip from Poe. “Are you going so soon?” He tossed a sly glance in Ben’s direction.

She smacked his chest with her hand as discreetly as she could. “Stop it,” she whispered.

Finn leaned closer. “He wasn’t even on the spreadsheet!” he hissed in mock reproof.

“I said stop it!” she hissed in return.

She felt Ben’s presence beside her just as he held out his hand and said, “Thanks for the invitation, Finn, and tell Poe thanks too. I’d tell him myself, but he’s a little busy.”

Finn chortled and turned to look at his boyfriend, who was grinding up against Sexy Marie Antoinette to the tune of whatever techno-rave-house music was playing. “I know, right?” He shook Ben’s hand, and then wrapped Rey in a hug and whispered “Details!” in her ear before bidding them good night.

It was so much quieter, once they’d left the house and shut the front door behind them, that Rey felt as if everything in the world had disappeared except her and Ben. At the top of the porch steps, he held out his arm, and Rey wrapped her hand around it.

She didn’t feel a spark, like she’d felt when she touched his hand at the Starbuck’s that first day. Instead she felt warmth. It started where her hand clasped his forearm, and spread up her arm to her shoulder, and then into her face.

The night air was cool and brisk, keeping the blush from overwhelming her cheeks. It carried the smell of wood and smoke and fireplaces, and as Rey descended the steps at Ben’s side, she had a sudden vision of the two of them cuddled on a couch in front of a roaring fire, mugs of hot chocolate nearby and books in their hands.

 _I want that_ , she thought. _I want him._

He began to move across the lawn towards the sidewalk, but stopped when Rey pulled her hand from his arm.

“Wait,” she said, and he turned towards her.

Rey could barely feel her feet beneath her as she went up to him – it was as if she were on a moving walkway, like the one at the airport that allowed you to get to your gate faster than you normally would. They stood for a moment in the crisp moonlight, just looking at each other, before she gently laid her hand against the back of his neck and went up on the tips of her toes to kiss him. 

His lips were soft and plush, and they moved against hers with a gentleness that made her heart ache and her midsection fill with heat. He cupped her jaw lightly with his right hand, her skin tingling at his touch, and she gave a little gasp as he ran the tip of his tongue along her lips. He pulled away to lean his forehead against hers, his thumb tracing along her cheekbone and down to the line of her jaw, cherishing her. She could feel tears collecting in the corners of her eyes as she reveled in the feeling of comfort and safety and belonging.

He kissed the tip of her nose, so softly that she almost couldn’t feel it, then moved slightly closer to press his lips against hers once more. This time she was the one to trace his lips with her tongue, and the sound he made when she did turned her entire body into jelly. She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him, and he moved to hold her closer, his arms encircling her tightly. They were kissing in earnest now, learning the movement of each other’s mouths, matching each other’s rhythm. Rey’s head was spinning in a whirlwind of Ben, the sound and taste and feel of him, the way his hand pressed against the small of her back, firm but careful, as the leaves rustled around their feet.

 _Home_ , she thought, with the part of her brain that could still think. _He feels like home._

And then, with unromantic timing, her stomach growled.

Ben laughed quietly against her mouth, but he didn’t stop kissing her.

“Sorry,” she murmured, in between kisses.

“No,” he answered, his face hovering close to hers. “It’s adorable.” He kissed her once more for good measure and then pulled away, laughing again as she groaned in disappointment.

“I want to feed you,” he said, tucking the blonde wig hair behind her ear. “And I want to sit and talk to you, for a long time.”

“You want a lot of things,” Rey murmured, keeping her face close to his so he could kiss her again if he wished.

“Yes, I do,” he admitted, and the husky timbre of his voice as he said it sent an electric shock of excitement down her spine. “First things first, though. We’re going to go for walks and go to movies and watch _Lord of the Rings_ and get to know each other.”

She chuckled, a silken, snug sound that she’d never heard herself make before. “Do you plan on _courting_ me?”

His answering chuckle was smooth and cozy. “I absolutely do.”

“I plan on courting you too,” she answered cheekily, rubbing her nose up against his.

He gave her another kiss. “You know what the first step of our courtship will be?”

Rey nodded, her heart swelling. “Bagel sandwiches.”

“Bagel sandwiches,” he confirmed, and leaned over to give her one more quick kiss, letting his hand rest on her arm for a moment as his lips met hers.

They grinned at each other after the kiss, for just a second. Then Rey felt his hand slide down her arm to envelope hers, and they started off towards the diner.

After a few steps, she tossed a sly, mischievous glance his way.

“What?” he asked.

“I heard there’s something new at the diner,” she told him. 

“Really?”

“Oh, yes,” she nodded, then fixed him with a serious glare. “An _espresso machine_.”

His laugh rang out across the still night, echoing across the houses, and Rey found it so lovely that she laughed too.

They strolled on, hands clasped together, and Rey felt the future fall into place around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The line that Ben quoted to Rey is indeed part of Faramir's declaration of love for Eowyn in _The Return of the King_ by J. R. R. Tolkien. It's not the exact wording, because even a Top-Level Nerd like Ben probably wouldn't have it exactly memorized.
> 
> Through a series of unfortunate Google searches, I have confirmed that pretty much every Sexy Whatever costume in this chapter actually exists. Heaven help us all.


End file.
